Past and Present
by Sciencegal
Summary: Second in my four-part series, "Dreams". Michelangelo's story. Mikey thought it was just another battle, but now he's not so sure. Two weeks later, Mikey suddenly collapses. His sick and he's dreaming. Dreaming about something that he believes is real...
1. First Signs

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**Author's note:** Second in the series: "Dreams". This one's all Mikey's POV. I know I'm writing two of the series's fics at the same time, but I can't help but get this one started! This is will refer to the first in later chapters!

**Disclaimer:** I only own my villians and my plot in this fic. The turtles & company do not belong to me. Oh! And thanks to Puldoh for helping me sort out my ideas for this plot! Thankies!

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Another day, another battle. At least that's what I thought as my brothers and I first saw the Foot ninjas appear out of the shadows. Now, I'm not so sure. It took only seconds for me to be separated from my brothers. I can't see them anywhere. There's too many ninjas. My nunchukus had already been lost among the many feet…feet of the foot…that's funny. I must tell my bros about that later… Anyway, I'm basically defenseless now. I'm covered in cuts and bruises. A ninja slams into me again and I land hard onto the ground. I'm surrounded and unable to protect myself. I hear my brothers call out to me. Probably looking for me and fighting their way through the crowd of our enemies. Slowly, I drift off into the darkness, unable to stay awake anymore…

&

I wake up to voices, but I can't hear them too clearly. My arm feels like it's on fire. I scream out before I manage to open my eyes.

"You okay, Mikey?" I hear Leo ask me.

"My arm…hurts," I say. "It burns…" I look around the room recognizing the infirmary almost instantly. Leo is leaning against the doorframe, watching as Donny searches through some cabinets. "Where's Raph?" I ask, noticing he isn't in the room.

"In the dojo taking his rage out on the punching bag," Leo says. I listen as the sounds of Raph's punching reaches me then.

"There it is!" Donny says as he pulls something out of the cabinet and walks over to me, holding a little bottle and a syringe. "For the pain." He explains at my look.

"Oh," I say. I quickly turn back to Leo instead. "What happened after I lost consciousness?"

"Well, the Foot disbanded almost immediately afterwards."

"Why?" I ask, wincing as I feel Don inject me with whatever was in that syringe.

"Your guess is as good as ours," Leo says, "We don't know." The drug soon takes effect and slip back into the darkness.

&

About maybe a month later, _okay,_ _two weeks, but it felt longer_, my brothers finally let me leave the infirmary. I watch my brothers sparring in the dojo: Donny vs. Leo. Raph stands next to me, _well, it's more like he's leaning against a pillar next to me then standing really_. I can tell he's agitated as he twirls his sai. Raph catches me watching him and stops twirling his sai for a minute to look down at me.

"What are you thinking about, Raphie?" I ask him.

"Nu'in'," He says as he looks back towards Donny and Leo.

"Will sparring with me make you feel better?" I ask.

"Mikey," Raph says, sternly, "Don said yer not well enough fer dat."

"I'm fine!" I reply, grumpily and maybe a little too loudly for Leo and Don stop sparring momentarily to glance at me. "I'm fine," I repeat for their benefit. It was the truth. My arm doesn't even hurt anymore. Well yeah, if I actually touch it, the burning feeling returns, but other then that, nothing! The only good thing about is that I can be as lazy as I want, but even that is getting boring now.

I stand up and I walk towards my room. I can feel my brothers' eyes on me, but I ignore them. Sometimes they just worry about me too much. Just because I'm considered the youngest. I slam my bedroom door for the sake of it. I think I got my point across. Maybe they'll leave me alone for a while. Most likely they won't and I don't entirely want them to leave me alone anyway. I don't know what I want, really.

I pick up one of my comic books off the floor and flip through the pages as I lay on my bed. I don't really focus on what I'm doing. This is more to keep my hands moving. I feel so restless. I have to do something. I have to move. The door to my room opens slightly. _Wow, that was, what, ten minutes to myself? I think they reached a new record!_ I glance up to see it's Raph before I look back at the comic book I'm still flipping through absentmindedly.

"Mikey?" Raph asks as he gently knocks on my door. _No point in that as he's already let himself in. Maybe I should have locked it? That way I'd have control over who entered 'cause I know he will come in whether or not I want him to._

"Yes?" I say without looking at him.

"We're done sparrin' and I was wonderin' if ya want ta do sum'thin' like…ah…we can play Halo tagatha?" He asks me. I think about my answer for a minute. Playing a videogame requires sitting in one place for a long time. I don't know if I can handle that. I need to move. _Will I be able to sit down long enough?_ I guess I could try it…

"Sure," I say without moving, still flipping through the pages, my legs swaying over the edge of the bed. There was a long silence after that and I waited for Raph to try to break the silence I created.

"So…" Raph says, awkwardly. He doesn't see my smile. "How are you feeling? Really?"

"Super," I say, still not looking up. Raph doesn't say anything so I continue, "I really am. You guys don't have to worry about me so much. I'm completely healed now. I just want to _do_ something. And take these stupid bandages off!" I rip the bandages still wrapped around my arm and throw them to the ground. I don't notice the comic book as it slides to the floor.

"Do you still want to spar?" Raph asks me. I look at him with my full attention now.

"But you said that Don-" I begin. Raph raises his hand to stop me.

"Don and Leo are out." He says. "What they don't know won't hurt them. Anyway, you said you felt fine, right?" I nod, eagerly, "Well then come on." He says. I quickly roll off my bed and follow him. He leads me to the dojo and then turns to face me. "Are you sure yer up ta this, Mikey?" He asks me.

"O'course I am." I say, with a slightly irked smile.

"We won't spar with weapons," He says.

"Why not?"

"Just bare with me, alright?" Raph says, "No weapons. If you feel tired or anything, we immediately stop."

"Raph!" I whine, but his gives me this look and I know he's not planning on changing his mind.

"If ya don't like the rules, we ain't doing this." He says.

"Oh alright!" I say. I notice Raph isn't looking too happy about the idea. He looks worried. We get into our fighting stance, Raph somewhat reluctantly. I move to strike first. Raph blocks my attack effortlessly and then kicks me away from him. I notice he is holding back. While, he'll see what he gets for holding back! Mostly we're just able to dodge each other's attacks until I manage to flip over him and kick him down. Raph grunts as he gets back up and backs away from me. The only way to get him to really fight me is to make him mad and I really want to fight him. Otherwise, this battle is going to be very boring.

"Come on, Raph," I say, pleadingly, "Ya can do better then that!"

"I can, but I won't," Raph says.

"Why not?" I whine. Raph stares me down and I instantly shut up.

"Let's just finish this," He says. He trips me and I quickly roll away before he can do anything more. I go to kick him and he dodges that attack, unable to see my next one. I push him down and he growls. _Closer to anger… Come on Raph. Get mad!_ I block Raph's attacks and notice as they get fiercer. Finally, I feel my adrenaline kick in, as Raph's attacks get harder to block. I elbow him back and his response is immediate. He spin kicks me, sending me to the ground. I roll out of his way and flip onto my feet, quickly slamming into Raph. He manages to stay on his feet and attacks back. Then he stops and steps back from me. I look curiously at his stunned look.

"What?" I ask. He's expression only gets more shocked. "What? What's wrong?"

"You okay, Mikey?" Raph asks me.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I say, still curious. Then I suddenly get very dizzy. The floor seems to tilt as I sway and fall into Raph's open arms. It's getting hard to breathe as I start to feel really sick. I feel Raph lift me off the ground and start walking as I start shaking violently. My arm starts burning again, but the pain doesn't just stop in my arm. It travels slowly through the rest of my body and I can't help but scream out. I barely notice as Raph sets me down.

"What's happenin' Mike?" Raph asks me. I can hear the worry in his voice and I try to answer him, but I can't. The burning pain's to intense to think about anything else and I lose consciousness…

…_Bright lights. Too bright to see. Shining in my face. Voices. I can't make them out. I scream and try to move, but my legs and arms are bound to something. What's going on? Where am I? Who's talking?_

**Author's note:** Please review! This story will take more time to update as it is not at all writen on paper first!

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	2. What is it?

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**Second Story in the Dream Series**

**Author's note:** Ahh, finally! I know the chapters for this story are short. Bare with me! This story's hard to write and i like to leave a little suspence!What IS happening to Mikey? Hopefully you'll find out in time!By the way, this chapter WILL have references to Mixing Dreams and Reality. They ARE part of a series! But I still left a lot in the open about that due to the first is still in progress.I hope you like it! Lot's of angsty and hurt-ish Mikey moments! This story will have moments where it is seen in Raph's POV (it will be in third person and past tense then to imply it already happened...).

**Disclaimer:** Don't own 'em. I only own Dr. Elias Svone and the plot!

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Raph pulled out his shell cell as he watched Mikey shake slightly on the infirmary bed. He pressed the button to call Leo and waited impatiently for him to answer.

"What's going on, Raph?" Leo asked as he answered his cell.

"You guys need ta get back here," Raph said, "Something's wrong wit' Mikey."

"What happened?"

"He just got sick all o' a sudden, I don't know!" He said. There was a pause where Leo handed the cell to Donny.

"Tell me his symptoms," Donny said.

"He started shakin' and I think he tried ta say somethin', but I couldn't undastand 'im. I don't think he noticed any of dis. Then I think he got dizzy and collapsed. He was still shakin' and he began screamin' in pain as I was carryin' 'im ta da bed in da infirmary. He may even had trouble breathin' right. He's unconscious now. I don't know what ta do!" Raph was pacing, but he couldn't remember when he started. He tried to calm his anxiety and slammed his fist into the wall.

"I've never heard of anything with all those symptoms…" Donny said after a minute. "I'll hafta look at him when we get there. Just keep an eye on him 'til then, alright?"

"Sure," Raph grunted. He flipped the cell closed and looked back over at his youngest brother.

&

I slowly open my eyes and look around. _Great! I'm in the infirmary again!_ I'm really starting to get bored of this place.

"How're ya feelin' Mike?" I hear Raph ask me and I turn towards him. He's standing next to the bed.

"Why am I here _again_?" I ask him, ignoring his question.

"Don'tcha remember?" Raph asks.

"We were sparring and then…ah…" I say, trying to remember. "What happened after that? No, better question: how long have I been in here?"

"Mikey, you got sick all o' a sudden," Raph says, "Donny doesn't know what it was. He looked it up on da 'net. He even called LH! He found nu'in'."

"Well it's gone now," I say as move to get off the bed. Raph pushes me back.

"Don said not to get up before he comes back," Raph says.

"Well I don't care what _Don_ says anymore!" I say, "I don't want to be here anymore! I'm tired of hearing what I can and can't do!"

"Calm down, Mikey," Raph says. I try to get up again, but Raph's still holding me down.

"Let me go!" I say as I struggle against him. "LET ME GO!"

"No," He says, "Not until you calm down." Leo and Donny run into the room then and my gaze instantly turn to them.

"What's going on?" Donny asks.

"He wants ta leave da infirmary," He says, "I told 'im he couldn't and he started freakin' out." _I'm right here, Raph!_

"I am NOT freaking out!" I yell, "I just wish you guys would just leave me alone! I'm fine! Whatever happened before is gone now!"

"Mikey, don't be ridiculous," Donny says, shaking his head.

"Shut the shell up, Donny!" I say. My brothers all look at me in shock.

"Fine, I'm gone," Donny breaks the stunned silence and then stomps out of the room.

"Donny, wait!" Leo says as he follows him, leaving me alone with Raph again.

"What's come over you lately, Mikey?" Raph asks me.

"Go away," I say, grumpily, as I turn away from him.

"Mikey…"

"GO AWAY RAPH!" I yell before he can finish, "I just want to be left alone. Why won't anyone leave me alone?"

Raph watched as Mikey slowly drifted off to sleep before he left the room. He found Donny and Leo sitting on the couch and he walked up to the two of them. "You alright?" He asked Don. He nodded as Raph sat on the other side of him.

"What about Mikey?" Leo asked.

"Sleeping," Raph said.

"He's starting to sound like I did before…" Donny said, but he couldn't finish.

"Before that stupid nightmare freak showed his ugly face!" Raph said as he took out one of his sais and started twirling it in agitation. Raph knew Donny was still not over his capture by Dr. Elias Svone, the dream nut that actually managed to give him dreams. Donny never told them what he dreamed. All he said was that Svone was using him to see the future.

"Well Svone's gone," Leo said.

"Good riddance," Raph grunted.

"It's probably just whatever was making him sick before," Leo said, "That's all."

"Maybe…" Donny said, slowly.

As soon as Raph leaves the room, I get up and peak out my door. I didn't mean to say that to Donny. I don't know where that came from. Maybe something is wrong with me. I rub my hand, lightly, against my left arm. The one that felt like it was burning before. A slight tingle travels up my arm at the touch and wince. That's weird… I'll worry about that later. That nightmare I had. What did it mean? I hadn't had a real nightmare for a while now and now I'm having them again? The lights were so bright in that dream. I wish I could have at least seen something. Maybe I could understand them better.

I walk back towards the bed, but I stop before I reach it. The corners of my vision had suddenly gotten very fuzzy. I shake it off, hoping it will just go away, but it doesn't. My arm starts burning again and it seems the shadows are reaching for me. What's happening to me? I try not to scream to alert my brothers. I'm fine, I can handle this. That was until I collapsed to my knees, my whole body shaking uncontrollably. I feel sick to my stomach and I don't know why. Maybe Donny was right. I should've stayed in the bed…

…"_Keep him still, keep him still! I don't want him moving!" Arms struggle to hold me down, but I still manage to move under them._

"_Let me go!" I yell, my voice slightly high-pitched._

"_Shut up, freak!" Someone says, slapping me hard across the face._

"_Don't mark him!" Someone else yells, "I don't want him to have any marks on him at all! We do not have to harm him. He's just a child."_

"_Who are you?" I ask, "Whaddaya want wit' me?" I wish someone would turn the lights off. It's too bright!_

"_If you want to keep him quiet, just gag him already!" The man says again. An icky cloth is shoved into my mouth. It feels gross against my tongue and I wish they would take it back out._

"_What do you want this freak for anyway, boss?"_

"_Just a little experiment," The evil boss-man says. Tears start falling down my face. Where are my brothers? Where is my father? Will anyone save me from the bad men?_

**Author's note:** Left ya off with a little Nightmare there! What do you think?Hopefully chapters will get longer when I get past all this story-builder stuff. REVIEW!


	3. Is it over?

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**Author's note:** Here's the next chapter that I had litteraly been working on for three days! I left you on a dream last chapter and I'll leave you on a dream again today! I love writing dreams... This chapter's longer 'cause I didn't want to leave you with a wimpy chapter like before.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own the turtles and company. I just own th plot and OC villian!

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"Mikey! Mikey, wake up!"

I open my eyes slowly and look around. All three of my brothers are kneeling over me. I stretch my arms out to push two of them away as I struggle to get back to my feet. My arm burns a bit and I quickly grab for it, falling back to the ground in the process.

"Are ya alright, Mikey?" Raph asks me.

"It's just my arm," I say, "I'm fine." Leo goes to help me up, but I push him back again. "I can get up myself." I say as I get to my feet with one hand still holding my burning arm.

"What happened?" Leo asks.

"I just fell," I say. I walk over to the infirmary bed and sit down.

"Can I look at your arm?" Donny asks me.

"No," I say as I pull my arm farther from his tentative reach. "It's just burns a little, that's all. Nothing I can't handle."

"Are you sure?" Donny asks.

"Yep," I say, "Nothing to worry about." I smile slightly to prove to them that I am fine. I hate it when they worry like this. It's so annoying.

"Will ya just stop!" Raph snaps suddenly. I turn to him in a start.

"Huh?" I say. "Stop what?"

"Sayin' yer alright, snappin' at us when we're jus' tryin' ta help, everything!" Raph says. "Ya haven't been actin' like yerself since that fight wit' da Foot two weeks ago! Yer really startin' ta get on my last nerve!"

"Yeah, which doesn't take a lot of work, does it?" I ask, wearily as I lean back on the bed.

"Mikey!" Raph says. I glance up at him with my eyes only. "I'm serious. What's goin' on, bro?"

"Nothing, Raph," I say as I roll onto my side away from him, "I just want ta be left alone."

"Well that ain't gonna happen 'til ya talk ta me." Raph says, "So start talkin'."

"Raph!" I say in annoyance as I feel him sit down on the bed next to me.

"Just tell me, Mike."

"I don't know, alright?" I say, "I don't wanna yell at you guys, but I can't help it. Ya wouldn't understand."

"I wouldn't understand?" He asks, "Think about which yer sayin'. I'm most likely _to_ understand."

"I guess," I say, trying not to laugh.

"Ah, now dat's a start!" Raph says, "Now if ya can laugh like dat some more, they'd be no pro'em."

"Raph, I… Can I tell you something?" I ask.

"Of course, Mikey," Raph says.

"There's this strange dream I've been having lately…" I say, "It's almost like a memory, but I don't remember it happening. Does that make sense?"

"What's it about?"

"There's these men and they're trying to keep me still on this table-like thing (like those table-things Bishop has?). You, Leo, and Donny are somewhere else, but I don't know where. I think I was the only one captured and I had to be young at the time. I felt younger when I was dreaming it. Maybe I was twelve or something? Anyway, it seemed so real. It was like a forgotten memory."

"I would remember somethin' like dat happenin'," Raph says, "It was just a dream."

"But what if it wasn't?" I ask. "What if it did happen? What if we just forgot about it?"

"Why would ya be rememberin' all dis now? This kinda thing sounds like somethin' ya wouldn't ferget."

"There's has to be something to it Raph and I want to find out what it is." I say as I finally turn back to look at him. "It's really bugging me."

"Well, I don't know what ta tell ya, Mikey…'cept don't even think about doin' what Don did and runnin' off by yerself." Raph says, "I'll be here if ya eva want to talk 'r sum'thin'."

"Thanks Raph." I say with a small smile.

"Hey it's no prob'em, li'l' bro." Raph says as he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck.

&&&&&&&&

After that, everything seemed fine for a long while. My arm had completely healed…_finally…_and I didn't feel sick or anything anymore. In fact, I felt completely back to normal! Those weird dreams I had before had not returned since my talk with Raph which is great because now I can think about other things like why I still feel so restless. Yeah, I know it's common that I can't sit still for more then a minute, but this is different, dudes! This is not my usual restlessness. If I'm not moving or doing something, it's actually painful! I haven't told my bros about this of course. They'd just start worrying again and I'd never get to go out and stretch my legs.

They're going out again tonight and I plan on going with them! I run over to Leo and put on my best pleading look. "Leo? Can I go with you guys tonight? I haven't gone topside in a-ges! Please, please, please!"

"Mikey," Leo says, wearily.

"Come on, bro!" I say, "It's not like I'm sick or hurt or anything! I'm fine now! I just need some freedom, ya know? I need to run and jump and all that! You gotta let me go out with you guys!"

"I don't know…" Leo says as he looks me over with his arms crossed in front of his plastron. "Are you sure you feel up to it?"

"Of course, Leo!" I say as a small amount of excitement edges into my voice before I can hold it back. I can't blow this now… "I'm in tip-top shape! See!" I say as I strike a pose with a big smile on my face. Leo lets out a small chuckle he couldn't hold back and I smile in victory.

"Okay, Mikey," Leo says, "Come on." He waves me to follow him over to Donny and Raph who had been waiting for him. "Alright guys," Leo says, "We're leaving."

"Mikey's comin' dis time?" Raph guesses.

"Yep, sure am!" I say with a huge cheesy grin.

"So you actually managed to convince Leo?" Donny asks.

"Sí, me hermano!" I say. My bros look at me strangely then and my grin gets wider. "Are we going or not?" I ask, already halfway out the door. I watch over my shoulder as my bros shake their head at me before quickly following.

&&&&&&&&&&

_Why does Mikey always seem to have so much energy?_ Raph thinks to himself, shaking his head as he runs after his youngest brother. Mikey had already gotten two rooftops ahead of them and he wasn't slowing down. Raph grunted as he sped up, hoping to catch up to his brother, but fate didn't seem to be one his side today. He only manages to catch up when Mikey abruptly stops. "What's up?" Raph asks him, curiously. Mikey points behind him and Raph turns to see a group of Foot ninjas coming towards them.

"Not now…" Donny said as he and Leo caught up to them. Leo unsheathed his katanas and the others soon followed.

"Let's kick some ninja butt!" Raph said as he twirled his sais. The two opposing forces clashed and the fight ensued. Raph smiled as he slashed his sai through the air and hit flesh. He loved the fight. Always had. The thrill as his sais cut through flesh. The feeling of power as his fists smashed into bone. He was in his element. Time flew by like it didn't even exist and soon the number of ninjas began to dwindle. He only stopped fighting when he saw Mikey collapse out of the corner of his eye. He knocked out the ninja he was fighting and rushed over to his little brother. "Mikey?" He asked as he lifted Mikey into a sitting position. "Mikey, talk ta me." Mikey remained unresponsive and fear instantly gripped at the red-banded turtle.

&&&&&&&&&

I was fighting alright for a time, but suddenly my arm suddenly begins to burn again and I feel that familiar nausea I had felt after sparing with Raph. It takes a minute before I get so dizzy I collapse to the ground. I don't even notice the fighting going around me anymore. I feel someone lift me into a sitting position, but I don't show any sign of reaction. The burning's everywhere now and I can feel myself shaking. It's getting so hard to stay conscious so I give up on trying and I let the darkness cover me like a nice, warm blanket…

…_I can't move anymore. I want out; I want to go home! One of the bad men step towards me. I can't see his face too clearly because the lights are still blinding me. "You'll be perfect for my tests." The man says, "Seeing as how you are a humanoid. Your brainwaves are so similar to that of a human." I open my mouth to ask him what he's talking about, but the icky cloth in still in my mouth and my voice comes out all gargly. He laughs at me and I feel tears start to fall down my face. I'm so scared! I should've listened to sensei and stayed in the sewers. I'm defiantly going to listen to him now…if I ever get out of here that is… Why hasn't daddy come to save me yet? I promise to be good!_

_The man starts moving around and I follow him with my eyes so filled with tears now that I can barely see. What is he going to do to me? Why can't he pick on someone else? Why me? Why are the humans so mean? I don't like this feeling. It's like I'm having one of my bad nightmares, but I can't wake up. I want Raphie, Donny, and Leo! I want by brothers! I want to snuggle up next to daddy's soft fur until all this scary stuff goes away!_

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**Author's note:** ...And the plot thickens... More of Mikey's dream is revealed! Hope you enjoyed it. Please live a review!


	4. Leo vs Mikey

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**Author's note:** Well here's the next one significantly longer then the last chapter. It took a while to get done (especially because the prequel is still in progress...) Enjoy! ^.^

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the turtles & company but I own the villian OCs in Mikey's dreams! Mwahahaha! And the plot...

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Leo and Donny quickly made their way over to Raph as he picked Mikey up. "Is he alright?" Leo asked as the Foot ninjas slowly faded into the night.

"Don't know," Raph asked. "All I know is dat he's alive, but he ain't wakin' up."

"We'll have to get back to the lair so I can look at him." Donny said. He shook his head, roughly, with his eyes closed as if to shake a thought away.

"Whatcha thinkin', Don?" Raph asked.

"Nothing," Donny lied, "Let's just go." Raph continued to eye Donny, but decided not to press the point…for now and instead worried about carrying Mikey back to the lair.

&&&&&&&

I'm really starting to think these dreams I'm having must have some importance. It's almost like the television screen in my mind is playing back an old memory, continuing where it left off until it's complete. Waking up from it this time seems to be even harder for me for some reason. It's like it doesn't want to let me go. Like I need to know what comes next. Like it's really important I know. I don't open my eyes immediately as I try to manage my thoughts. _What happened again?_ I remember fighting Foot ninjas, but I don't understand what happened next. I hope I'm not were I think I am. If I'm in the infirmary again I swear I'm gonna do something about it! I open my eyes just enough look at my surroundings. _I _am_ in the infirmary, _again! I let out a groan as I let my eyes close again.

"Mikey?" I hear Leo ask me. I open my eyes and turn to look at him. He's sitting in a chair nearby the bed.

"Yes, Leo?" I ask.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." I say, I look around again and sigh, "I hate waking up in this room." I hear Leo chuckle at that and I turn back to him.

"Yeah, I know," Leo says, "You say it often enough. How 'bout next time I convince Don to take you to your room instead?"

"I'd very much appreciate that." I say, unable to hold back a wide grin.

"Do you know what happened, Mikey?" Leo asks me.

"Uh…not really," I say, "I wish I did but I never remember that part."

"What part do you remember?" He asks.

"The dream," I say, "I always have a continuing dream after. Leo? Do you remember a time where I got captured when I was twelve?"

"No, why?" He says.

"Cuz that's what the dream's about." I say as I look towards the ceiling, "It's the guy 'bout ready to do experiments on me. If I could only see his face!" I grind my teeth together as I start to rub hard against the arm that always burns before the dream comes. I want to see that dream again. I want to see that dude's face!

"It's just a dream though." Leo says in that calming way of his that's just making me madder.

"I don't think it is." I say, "Why else would I only dream it after my arm starts burning?"

"Your arm burns when you have those attacks?" Leo asks with his eyes wide. I obviously just told him something he didn't know.

"Maybe…" I say, slowly.

"Don't clam up on me now, Mikey. Where does it burn exactly?"

"Don't get all paranoid." I say, refusing to answer.

"Why won't you tell me?" He says and if I know my brother, I can tell he's starting to get annoyed with me. "What are you so afraid of?"

"Nothing," I say, "I just don't want you fussing over me over something I can handle."

"Please Mikey?"

"It's not even that serious." I say, "It goes away before I wake up again." I have to turn my head away from Leo so I can't see that look in his eyes. The only problem is that turning away doesn't help. I can still feel it and I wince. "Fine. It's my shoulder." I move so he could have a clear view of where I'm pointing, but I don't meet his eyes. "It starts here. It always starts here." Leo grabs hold of my arm and I can tell he's really looking at it.

"This is the same arm you were complaining about before, right?" Leo asks.

"…Yes…" I answer.

"I think during that battle you could have gotten stabbed with a syringe. Whatever's ailing you was most likely administered by the Foot." Leo released my arm before standing up. "I'm going to talk to Don about this. He could tell us more."

"No." I say, "Donny fusses even more then you do."

"Well, then you can stay here at the lair when we do our nightly patrol…" Leo says with a wave of his hand over his shoulder as he begins to walk away. "…Every night."

"Leo!" I whine, "That's not fair!"

"I need to know if you'll be alright and that you won't pass out on us again if we get into another fight." He says, "Until then, you will not be going top-side; period." When he gets to the door, he pauses, obviously expecting me to forfeit…or at least giving me time to…but I remain silent. He is not gonna win this time. I'm perfectly fine. I don't need Donny checking on me and I'll prove it! Let's see who breaks first.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Leo doesn't know what he started. Ever since that day we talked, I've been as annoying as I can be. There's no way Leo can keep up denying me my freedom. He'd have to give up eventually and surrender to my power! I will win this little game of mine eventually!

Of course, I thought all this before Leo somehow managed to disappear. I look everywhere for him and have to surrender after awhile to my eldest brother's ability to hide so well. I check the dojo for what feels like the hundredth time (though it's probably only the second or third) only to find Raph going at the punching bag like it's done him a major wrong as usual. Briefly, I wonder what the punching bag did to deserve such abuse before walking inside the room and positioning myself right beside him with a completely innocent expression. I don't say anything for a while as I clasp my fingers behind my shell and just wait.

Eventually, Raph stops abusing the bag and instead holds it still without looking at me. "Waddaya want?" He growls at me.

"Where's Leo?" I ask.

"How m'I s'posed ta know?" He asks, "I ain't his keeper 'r nu'thin'."

"I can't find him anywhere." I say with my eyes almost pleading.

"Waddaya want me ta do 'bout it?" He asks as he finally looks at me.

"Couldja help me, big bro?" I ask, smiling.

"If Leo's takin' ta avoidin' ya as I bet he is ya ain't gonna find him, Mike." He says, any anger he might have had before completely gone from his voice now.

"I know…" I say, sighing as I look down at the ground.

"Hey, why don'tcha find sum'thin' betta then waitin' 'round like dis for 'im to pop up." He says, "It jus' ain't gonna happen." I know he's trying to help, but instead he only gives me an idea I know he's not going to like very much. He did bring this on himself. Heh, yeah Leo won't be showing up anytime soon but that doesn't mean he can't give in to peer pressure. All I have to do is annoy Raph – and maybe even Donny, just for fun – and then they will be _pleading_ with Leo to give up this stubborn act.

"So, Raph-?" I begin before Raph catches on before I can even _begin_ to form my sentence and cuts me off.

"No." He says firmly. "Go away, Mikey. Annoy someone else."

"But Raph!" I say, "I'm starting to get physically _sick_ of being down here all the time! You gotta help me! Come on, bro!" I grab for Raph's wrist to force him to listen to me, but the look in his eyes tells me he didn't appreciate that at all.

"I said, no!" He says as he roughly pulls his arm out of my grasp. "When I said 'find sum'thin' better' ta do, I didn't mean annoy me! Why don'tcha go bother Don!"

"But you're my favorite brother!" I say with my trademark cheesy smile, "You must save me from dying from lack of clear air-filled exercise!"

"I don't gotta do nu'thin'." He says as he turns away from me to avoid the look I _know_ he can still feel piercing through him. It's one of my super powers, you know? No one can resist _the look_ – not even big brawny stubborn trying-to-be-resistant brothers.

"You can't do this to me!" I say as I again grab his wrist and collapse backwards towards the ground in a very good interpretation of complete torture if I do say so myself – which I will – again and again. "Think of your poor, desperate baby brother left to cope here all alone every night with only Master Splinter to keep me company! You know what it's like; I know you do! How can you stand there and let me die of boredom and inactivity while you're out having fun with Leo and Donny? It's not fair! You gotta save me!"

"Mikey…" Raph growls, but I can tell his guard is weakening to my power. He will fall soon enough.

"I'm going to die!" I say as I dramatically lay the arm not still holding Raph's wrist over my eyes, "One of these nights you'll come home to a dead brother all because you didn't help me when you could and took away this unfairness. No more Mikey; just silent rooms and mourning brothers, cuz one had no heart to save me from the boredom of an almost empty lair. There's no hope left! This is it!" With that, I finally release Raph's wrist and fall all the way backwards so I'm lying back on my carapace. I close my eyes in another dramatic rendition of dying just to emphasize my point.

"Finally some peace and quiet!" Raph says, smirking as he returns to his punching bag and ignores me. I worked hard on that little speech! I grumpily stand back up and shot my brother a glare.

"Fine!" I say, "Maybe Donny will be nicer than you and actually help me!"

"Go ahead." He says, "No one's stopin' ya."

"Fine!" I repeat before stomping out of the dojo and stopping just outside to glare back at the door. I hope Donny will be easier to fall. Raph's easy, but sometimes it's hard to figure out what will get ya Raph the bull and what will get ya Raph the sympathetic (which is rare but I know is hidden there somewhere).

After a minute of just staring at the door, I finally turn around and walk with a little more bounce in my step towards Don's lab. Even if he isn't in there, just my presence within could set him off which is good for me. I peek inside the door and happily spot Donny almost hidden among the pile of equipment scattered around the lab. Without so much as a warning, I walk right in confidently and stop directly behind my brother. With a smirk as I realize he doesn't even know of my presence, I turn to view the countertop directly beside me. I quickly spot a few delicate objects, pick up a nice – for now – whole glass vial, and purposefully loosen my grasp so it makes a nice crashing sound on the hard concrete floor. Glass shards scatter across the ground just as Donny practically jumps a foot in the air before swiveling his chair around towards the source: me.

"MIKEY!" Donny says in a mixture of a yell and a growl, "What do you think you're doing in here!" Perfect, he's already mad; now for the annoying part.

"Nothing," I say innocently with a simple shrug of my shoulders, "Just wondering what my brainy brother was up to."

"You BROKE something _already_ and you've haven't even been in here that long!" He yells again, noticing the broken shards of glass on the ground between us before he stands to his feet. "Get OUT!"

"You don't even know how long I've been in here." I say with a smug smile, "You were too busy to notice. What _are_ you doing anyway? Is it something cool?" I try to look past my brother without stepping on the glass.

"It's none of your business!" Donny says, "You probably wouldn't be able to understand half of it!" I turn away from Donny, instead spot some suspiciously delicate looking mechanical whats-it, and pick it up.

"What's this then?" I ask holding it up for inspection. It had a lot of dials, buttons, and strange doohickeys that probably did some pretty cool stuff if I knew how to work it. I lingered one finger above one of the many colorful buttons before Donny's voice froze me.

"Don't touch that!" He snaps almost hysterically with his hands reaching out as if ready to stop me if I didn't obey.

"What's it do?" I ask, again as I look back over at Don to really look at him.

"It's a highly sensitive prototype of a new idea I recently thought up and if you don't leave it alone – like the rest of my stuff – you might just end up paying for it." He says, dangerously, his hands still reaching. I put the 'prototype' down and turned to something else to pick up but again, Don's voice stopped me.

"Don't touch _anything_, you hear me!" He says, "NOTHING! And GET. OUT!"

"Donny," I say instead as I pick up another electrical mechanism. "Do you think this is breakable?" I barely look at it before it slips from grasp and crashes to the ground. It starts sparking sinisterly and I back away with a hidden smile on my face. "Looks like it is."

"Out NOW!" Donny says. He ignores the glass between us and begins pushing me out through the door. I wince in sympathy every time I hear the glass crush beneath Donny's feet but from the way he looks, I don't think he cares so much. Wow, he must really be mad at me. When I'm finally outside his lab, he slams the door in my face and a few seconds later, I hear the lock click. Okay, that's not an option anymore. Now what?

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

After a whole week of this, Raph just couldn't handle it anymore. Mikey had already retreated to his room by this time. "Leo!" Raph growled.

"What?" Leo said from behind him. Raph turned and glared at his older brother.

"Ya gotta quit this." He said with his eyes narrowed. "I don't think I can stand anotha day with that thing you turned our brother into."

"He'll get over it soon." He quickly said, "He can't keep this up for long."

"This is Mikey we're talkin' about." He said with a disbelieving look, "He can outlast anyone prob'bly."

"Not me." Leo said, proudly.

"Only because you are hiding from 'im." Raph told him, "You know Mikey can twist all our legs into doin' anythin' fer 'im. So instead of facin' 'im you've taken ta cowerin'."

"It's for his own good." Leo said; his smile wiped off his face.

"I don't see a problem," Raph said, "We'll jus' hafta keep a betta watch on 'im."

"It can't be that bad anyway." Donny said as he made his appearance. "He'll be fine." The way he said that, told the other two that Donny knew something he wasn't telling them. Both Leo and Raph looked at Donny for a few minutes before Raph turned back to Leo.

"Just give up, Leo," Raph said, "It's now three against one."

"Fine." Leo said, slightly annoyed by this change in events, "If anything happens to him, it won't be my fault."

* * *

**Author's end note:** Please review as always.


	5. The truth

**A/N:** Half of this chapter's been done for months now. I just never had time to finish it. Now with college and all, it's getting harder to actually post the chapters I write and this fic doesn't have a rough draft like the others. This is when things start happening. Yay for me for finally getting there! ^.^ I can't wait to go back to Mike's POV. I've been working on Raph's third person for so long now. *dies* Well enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them. The only character that's my creation is Dr. Elias Svone and his minions. The story line's my original idea.

* * *

When I find out the next morning that the mutiny had already happened and Leo was gonna allow me to come with, I couldn't hold back the triumphant grin. I so won. I told you Leo couldn't keep up his act. I am the great Turtle Titan and Battle Nexus Champion. Brothers fall to my great power. Yanno… There should be a super power named after me. _The Mikenator: Defender of turtle rights from elder brothers everywhere!_ …I'll work on the title later… Now I got some patrolling to do with my bros. I almost couldn't wait 'til we got topside and I grin as the wind tussles my mask tails.

"Keep with us, Mikey," I hear Leo say in annoyance mixed with worry. Only because I don't wanna be locked in the lair again do I draw back a little.

"Party-pooper," I mutter under my breath. _Just because they are all a bunch of slow pokes, I have to slow down for _them. I hate this wacko illness. It's totally bringing me down and making my bros even more annoyingly protective. It's cracking my grove. I'll show them… "Hey guys!" I call over my shoulder, "How 'bout a little race? Last one to April's is a rotten turtle egg!"

"Mikey!" I hear Leo yell after me.

"A little short-distance race isn't gonna kill me." I say, with a roll of my eyes. "Worrywart…"

"I think it's a good idea." Raph says, "I'm in."

"Thanks Raph." I say with a firm nod, "Donny?"

"Couldn't hurt…" He says almost hesitantly. My grin grows.

"Fine," Leo says with a huff.

"Yay!" I say, happily, "Ready-set-go!" Without even giving my bros time to register what I said, I take off. Distantly, I hear Raph growl as he runs after me – followed by the other two I'm sure, though much quieter. As my speed picks up to full throttle, I feel my adrenaline kick in and I can't help but make a shout of joy. I love this! With my mind fully on the run, I don't even notice my arm start burning again. On my next jump, my feet slip from under me and I collapse face-first. Only when I try to lift myself up do I start recognizing the signs. Why now? Why does this keep happening? I'll never be able to go topside again if this keeps up…

…_Nightmare after nightmare. I'm so scared. They won't go away! I want Raphie! He always knows how to make the bad dreams go away! Why won't they go away?! I'm so tired, but I don't wanna go back to sleep. What if this time the dream monsters catch me? Donny says dreams can't hurt you, but what if he's wrong? Just 'cuz they never hurt him don't mean…_

"_How is the machine working?" It's that bad man from before! Has he come to finally kill me? I don't wanna die. I'm too young! I still haven't found out if the Justice Force survived that explosion!_

"_It is working all as planned, sir," A different voice says in response. "Everything's fully functional. This is a real breakthrough."_

"_Yes, comrade, the Nightmare Generator will make me a lot of money." The bad man says…._

* * *

"Mikey! Mikey, wake up!"

I can barely wake up after that one. I hear myself groan as I try to lift myself up. I'm helped up and, by the dark green coloring, I guess it's Raph. When I manage to open my eyes, I notice Donny's also there though he's kinda backed away from me a little and lost in his own mind. I barely notice Raph shaking me. I'm still remembering that horror of my past. That name… I heard it before… _'The Nightmare Generator'_…

"…Nightmare Generator…" I repeat to myself aloud. I think I'm starting to understand…

"Mikey, what's goin' on?" Raph asks me. I lift my head to look at him, still trying to remember. Where did I hear that before?

"Raph…" I begin to say before I'm cut off.

"Nightmare Generator?" Donny asks with a shiver.

"Yeah…" I say, looking at him, "Do you remember the significance of that?"

"We all do." I hear Leo say. I quickly turn around and find him standing some distance away watching me. "The Nightmare Generator. That was Svone's first invention before he created that future dream generator he put Donny, and eventually us as well, through six months ago."

"Oh, right. I remember now," I say as I slowly stand on my own feet. "Svone…"

"Why?" Donny asks a little shakily. I look up at him and notice he's fidgeting a little. I guess he isn't over Svone's torture yet. I don't blame him. I slept for a week after that and those dreams I saw? They made my nightmares look like fairytales! Of course, Donny's experience was longer than mine so I had to have been worse.

"Well…" I glance at Raph at this, "I had another dream. And…and Svone was in it…talking about the Nightmare Generator…that he was testing on me."

"But they're just dreams," Leo says, rationally.

"No…they're not…" Donny says. "I should have seen this coming. I just…I can't believe it…" I look at Donny in confusion that I'm sure is shared by everyone else.

"What do you mean?" Leo asks.

"Mikey, how old were you in that dream? Would you say about…eleven or twelve?" Donny asks me. I just stare at him for bit before I can answer.

"Eleven I think," I say, "Why, do you know something about this?"

"I saw it in a dream," He explains, "While Svone was giving me those future dreams… I didn't think it was real… I hoped it wasn't real."

"You…saw it in a dream?" I repeat. I was hoping he could confirm that my dream actually happened. Not that I want it to have happened but…I can't help but believe it did happen.

"Wait, eleven?" Leo asks, suddenly. "That's…five years ago… That's how old that newspaper article was. Remember? When we were heading to where Svone was holding Don?"

"Tha one that was talkin' 'bout the Nightmare Generator earning Svone an award?" Raph asks, "O' course I remember. Whatcha getting' at, Leo?"

"It said it was tested on animals with near-human intelligence." Leo says, "At first I thought it could mean monkeys, yanno?"

'_Seeing as how you are a humanoid. Your brainwaves are so similar to that of a human.'_

"You mean you think it was tested on me." I say as I remember what Svone had said in that one dream. "He did say something to that affect in my dreams. He treated me like I was an animal… Like the monkeys… Do you really think that actually happened?"

"I still think we woulda remembered sum'thin' like that if it happened." Raph says.

"Yeah, it wasn't that long ago," Leo says, "It's not like we have any proof anyway."

"I do know one thing." Donny says with his arms crossed over his plastron. "Adrenaline."

"What about it?" Leo asks.

"That's what's causing Mikey's attacks," Donny explains, "Adrenaline."

"What makes ya say that?" Raph asks.

"I've been thinking. Every time Mikey's fallen ill it was after something that would get his adrenaline up: running, fighting both physically and verbally…"

"…And sparring… You're right…" Raph says. "That does make sense…"

"What? Does that mean I can't do anything anymore?" I ask, hoping to be brought back into the conversation. I mean, come on, everyone hates being talked about like they're not there right? "That's not fair!"

"I have to do some tests to make sure, but I believe my findings will only prove my hypothesis correct." Donny says.

"Then that settles it." Leo says. "Mikey is banned from anything that will over-excite him."

"You can't do that!" I protest, "Are you guys even listening to me?! This isn't fair!" Well guessing from them turning around and heading back to the lair proves they are not listening…terrific… I really hate being ignored…

* * *

They left me again and there was nothing I could do to get them to take me with them this time. My life's ruined! I'm doomed to live a life of boredom and it's all because of this stupid stuff that was put inside of me. I don't even know if anyone can get rid of it. I'm going to be trapped here in boredom for the rest of my life! I almost slam the ball I was playing with into the ground, not caring if it came back or not when it bounced off the wall. I really am mad at my situation. It's just not fair!

As my heart beats harder with my irritation, I feel my arm start burning. I lay back in my bed and welcome the unconsciousness that follows. This time, though, it's more painful and I think I may have screamed out as my mind was forced to remember again…

…_I'm so tired. Fear is the only thing keeping me awake but I don't know how long it'll last. I don't wanna dream anymore. I just want my family to come for me. I wanna go home._

_I hear something and I open my eyes to see one of the humans fly past me. I look around, wildly, trying to figure out how he can fly like that. He didn't look like he was having fun and the sound he made when he crashed sounded painful. Then I see daddy. Is he coming to save me? _Daddy!

"_Back away from my son." Daddy says as he holds his walking staff like a weapon. He looks like he can fight off all the villains in my favorite comic book at the same time easily._

"_So the rat's come out of his hole," The scary man says._

"_How do you know of our existence?" Daddy asks._

"_A certain toy store clerk had the footage I needed. It wasn't hard if you listened to the rumors."_

Daddy!_ I try to squirm free but I can't. I can't even remove the icky cloth in my mouth. _Help me, daddy!

"_Heed my advice. If you do not free my son or back away from him this instant, I will have to make you."_

"_I am not finished with my tests yet, rat." Scary man says._

"_You have been warned." Daddy says before he disappears from my sight. I quickly look around for him, but I just can't see him. I hear a weird noise like when my leg broke after I crashed my skateboard Donny made me, except this noise sounds squishy too. Then there's this other noise like a swish or something. I try to turn my head to face it but the table thing I'm on is blocking my view._

"_Michelangelo," I hear Daddy say before he's in my line of sight and frees me from the table. "Are you alright, my son?" He pulls down the cloth so it's hanging around my neck now and I can speak._

"_Daddy!" I say as I hug him tight, "I was so scared! Where's scary man? Is he gone? Can I go home now? Where's my bwothers? Are they okay? Is Leo still mad that I ran off and hurt myself? Is it all over?" I say all this in my usual rush before taking a deep breath._

"_We can go home." He says, and I can hear his smile in his voice. "It's over."_

"_YAY!" I say as I hug him tighter. Daddy picks me up on his back and takes me away from the scary place._

"_Your brothers wanted to come with me, but I advised them against it. They will be in the sewers waiting for us against my wishes." I snuggle my head against the back of daddy's neck and fall asleep…_

"…Michelangelo!"

I moan, grasping my head as I see a strange white light flash beneath my eyelids. My head's killing me. I can't seem to think straight or even try to figure out who's shaking me.

"Michelangelo, wake up!"

I open my eyes to slits, trying to orient myself with my surroundings. My migraine is making it hard to see but I think I'm in my room and…is that Master Splinter?

"My son, are you alright?"

I guess it is… "My head… It hurts…" I whimper, my eyes unconsciously closing.

"Tell me what has caused you this pain."

"I don't know. Feels like my brain is overloading." I try to open my eyes again only to see a blurry outline of my sensei leaning over me. I feel him brush his hand over my forehead.

"The pain should pass soon. Just hold on until then."

I nod, squeezing my eyes shut and rolling over to fold in on myself as much as I could. Slowly, the pain does decrease in it's intensity. I let my body relax as I calm down. "Sensei?" I ask, when I can, "Do you remember a time when I was captured by Svone?"

"Yes," He says, sighing, "I remember, though not as well as you do now. I've been on a personal journey to search for all of my memories at that time, but they are all shrouded in mystery."

"Why didn't my brothers remember?" I ask. I'm shocked to hear he knew of this. Now I know these dreams were memories.

"Because of what happened after I rescued you from that place. Do you remember a white light?"

"Yeah, what does it mean?"

"It signifies the time when we all forgot what had occurred. Your brothers only remember your accident on your ''board' and not what happened after Leonardo found the remains of the crash and you missing."

"Leo went to find me?" At this, I sit up on my bed.

"Against my wishes, yes he did. He had left Raphael in charge and Donatello had informed me of Leonardo and your absence. I do remember my disappointment and worry when I found out I had two eleven-year-old sons out on their own." He almost smiled at that before he continued, "I believe Svone may have tried to erase our memories of this event and since the four of you were young at the time, the missing memory left no traces. For me, I knew something was missing and have been searching for it. Until now, I had no clue to what I was looking for, but you have given me what I needed."

"Why am I remembering now?"

"My suspicions are it was not the Foot that injected you with the serum that awakened these memories but Svone's men undercover. It seems he escaped the explosion and is now searching for a replacement to test his experiments."

"So he's after me?"

"I believe so." At that moment, we hear a crash in the main part of the lair. "Stay here, my son," Splinter says before going to check it out. I get up from my bed and slowly walk to my door as the noises continue. I can hear voices, but they aren't too clear. As I get closer, I hear my name. Only when I'm at the door do I realize its significance: Svone's men have come for me.

* * *

"So we're we headin', bro?" Raph asked as he turned towards Leo. He was starting to feel bad about leaving Mikey behind like that, but he knew they had to. It was for his own safety.

"Towards April's. I want to stop by her place for a little bit." Leo said as he turned back towards his brother before returning his gaze before him.

"Gotcha." He said in reply before glancing at Donny who was lagging behind. "What's up, Don?"

"Hmm? Oh, nothing." Don said, vaguely. "I'm just…thinking… I have a bad feeling. What if Svone comes back?" The last was quiet and Raph almost didn't hear it.

"He's dead, Donny," Raph said.

"But…what if he does? What if he…gets his hands on Mikey…?"

"Where's all this coming from?"

"I'm just…worried…"

"You have a right to be." A dreadfully familiar voice said from behind them. All three brothers turned around, Leo running back over to the other two.

"Svone." Donny ground out as he narrowed his eyes and pulled out his bo.

"Hello again, Donatello. I see you've gotten your strength back." Dr. Elias Svone said with a smirk. He was wearing his trademark white lab coat over a black suit. He was standing at the other end of the roof almost lazily.

"No thanks to you, jerk!" Donny growled. His brothers each put a hand on his shoulders to, hopefully, calm him. Neither of them has ever seen Don this angry before.

"Anger does not suit you-" Svone began.

"What do you want, Svone." Leo said with narrowed eyes, his free hand on the hilt of his katana.

"I just wanted to see how my old test subject was doi-" At Svone's line, Donny wrenched himself away form his brothers and leapt at him. He swung his bo staff as hard as he could but Svone managed to catch it. He then grinned a second before kicking Don in the gut, wrenching the staff out of Don's hands in the process, and knocked him off his already unbalanced feet with another swift kick before stabbing the bo staff down at his chest just above the ridge of his plastron. Donny coughed as he tried to breath against the stinging pain of his collarbone.

"Now," Svone said as he held the staff above Donny's neck with a foot on his plastron to hold him down. "Does anyone else want to attack me? With a single blow, I can break his windpipe."

"Well then talk." Leo growled, his katanas now out and in each hand. Raph had his sais in hand as well. "What did you really want?"

"Only what I will be getting soon. Donatello knows, don't you?" He says the last while applying a light pressure on the bo staff against Donny's neck.

"Get off me." Was Don's only grunted response.

"The present is starting to catch up to the future, Donatello. There's nothing you can do to change that."

"Get off!" Don said as he struggled beneath Svone. "I won't let you win!"

"It's too late." Svone said as he pressed harder, causing Don to stop trying to get away and concentrate more on trying to breathe.

"Let him go!" Leo yelled as he watched this, looking slightly out of place as he tried to figure out what to do so his brother will not be killed.

Svone did not relieve the pressure but kept it light enough to only cause discomfort. "Oh I plan to later if things go as planned." He said with a glance at Leo. At that point, two figures wearing white garbs appeared on either side of him. "Status?"

"Contained." One of them gives the simple answer. Svone smiles at this. He tossed the bo staff away and lifted Donny by his neck, Don's hands automatically gripping his.

"I suggest the three of you head home now. Someone may need your help." Svone said before tossing Donny roughly towards his brothers. Raph and Leo quickly helped Donny to his feet before looking back at where Svone used to be.

"Where'd he go?" Raph asked with a growl.

"It doesn't matter," Leo said as he clicked his cell on. "I have a bad feeling." He waited with the cell to his ear, but didn't get an answer before he finally hung up. "Mike's not answering his cell. Come on. We're going back to the lair."

* * *

**A/N:** Please leave a review for those of you who missed this fic. I wanna see if I really should take the time to write it with all I have to do...:D


	6. Anxiety

**A/N:** Wow, I took a long time for this, eh? Well, it's been half-way done for a while. It's just... Okay well this week's exam week which means SUMMER VACATION next week. That should give me the much-needed break to get my fics updated. I'm currently working on Tales of Turtle Tots too to post soon. I'm not so happy how the tot-scene began but it's gonna get better. I'm also writing a fic I should start posting called "Daddy's Little Princess" about Mikey having a daughter by mysterious circumstances named Lorelei, only living heir to an alien planet. I also writing in a few others...too many to say here really...

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them, for if I did, Splinter-sensei would kill me. I would not want that old rat's anger directed at me. All I own is the plot, Dr. Elias Svone, and his minions.

* * *

I know what's Svone's capable of. I mean, Donny's still not really the same after that future dream stuff. That's why when he entered the small room I was chained up in, I already knew this wasn't going to be good… I squirm against the glowing rings binding me, hoping desperately to get loose. Images of my capture flash before my eyes…

"_Run, Michelangelo!"_

…I hope sensei's alright. He tried so hard to keep Svone's men away from me…

…_Blood pooling on the ground…_

…I know they must have really injured him. I remember…

"_I can't! Sensei…!"_

…I squeeze my eyes shut. I'm sorry, sensei… I tried…

…_Arms grabbing me; dragging me away…_

…I tried…

"Michelangelo…"

I barely open my eyes to look at Svone as he says my name. I tug harder against my binds. I already know it's hopeless…

"Again we meet." He says as if continuing through my silence, "This would be the third time I believe. You remember now, right?"

"What was that stuff you put in me anyway?" I ask, grumpily.

"Just another experiment I've been working on. It replenishes lost memories, as you are aware of now I am sure. Useful if someone acquires an annoying bout of amnesia, you see. My tests show it didn't quite work as expected, but we can work with that."

"What do ya mean… You've been watching me?"

"Michelangelo," He says, sighing in an almost degrading way, "I watched Donatello weeks before I lured him to me. I'm very thorough in my experiments."

"We're not your guinea pigs." I growl, sounding almost like Raph.

"Oh but you are, Michelangelo. You are the one thing that can help me perfect this drug and you have no choice but to." I struggle harder as he nears me and squeeze my eyes shut. I feel him connect things to the side of my head and I blink an eye open to see him walk away. "This may hurt." He warns with a smirk before pressing a button on the control panel. Suddenly I feel as if my brain's being hit with a lotta electricity at once. I don't notice as I scream out in shock and pain as my vision goes white before the blurry edges of color blink across it. I don't know when I lose consciousness, but it sure was a relief when I did…

* * *

When the three brothers arrive at their home, they freeze at the door. The lair was a mess of overturned furniture and ripped papers. Leo was the first to spot Splinter when they scanned the room. He quickly ran over, almost tripping over misplaced items scattered over the floor. "Sensei!" He said as he knelt down in front of the unmoving figure. Splinter's tail was practically curled around him where he laid on the floor. He was situated in a such a way that it looked as if he had just not moved once he fell. A puddle of blood lied beneath him and Leo carefully turned him onto his back so the long gash across the rat's chest could be seen. Splinter's face scrunched up at the movement; a groan of pain leaving his mouth through his clenched teeth.

"Are you awake? Can you say something?" Leo asked, frantically.

"Michelangelo… Must… Can't allow them to…" Splinter began muttering, sounding vaguely delirious. Donny slowly joined his brother and gently and quietly checked their teacher over.

"Father…? Please, tell me what happened. Where's Mikey?" Leo tried again. Splinter continued muttering, most of the time incoherently.

"Leo?" Donny said as he gently turned Splinter's head. "He's delirious because…he may have a concussion." He pointed to a small amount of blood behind Splinter's ear.

"Shouldn't there be more blood?" Leo asked.

"Not if there's swelling inside his skull…" Donny said, "But hopefully that's not the case because I can't do anything about that. Only a doctor could…"

"Hopefully…"

Donny carefully picked Splinter up and laid him on the couch before running to get his supplies to bandage his injuries. Raph ran up to Leo then looking worried. "Mike's gone. There's evidence tha fight carried up ta Mike's room and around it. I think they took 'im, Leo. I think that's what those bastards meant when they said 'contained'. We gotta find him. Who knows what that jerk Svone's doing ta 'im!"

"I do. Or at least I think I do. I mean, it seems most of my induced nightmare about Mikey have some semblance to the truth…" Donny said as he walked towards them from his lab. "It's that dream of his. Svone experimented on him then and now he's experimenting on him again…"

"You don't know if that's what really happened." Leo said.

"I know enough." Donny said back as he began bandaging Splinter's wounds.

"Well we still gotta get Mike back no matta what Svone's doin' ta him. We all know it's gotta be bad." Raph said and his brothers nodded in agreement.

* * *

I can see flashes of my life passing before my eyes. It's like I'm dying, but it never ends. And there's that pain. It doesn't go away for a second. It's the worse thing I ever felt in my life. I wish it would just end. Eventually, I don't even care in what way it ends. If I just die, the pain will be gone. That's all I want.

By the time it's over, I lie limp in my binds. I don't want to move at all and I feel strangely numb. I vaguely hear Svone moving around before he tips my face towards him. "Worn out already? We only just began. I haven't even started on the actual tests yet."

"What are you going to do…?" I ask him, softly.

"See how much memory I can bring back once your mind has been wiped clean…" He says. My eyes widen fearfully. I don't want to lose my memories. I don't want to forget… Svone smiles and holds up a long needled syringe. I stare at it hoping against hope he won't use it, but what would be the point of showing it to me then? He tilts my head a little, exposing my neck more, before inserting the needlepoint into my skin up towards my head. I squeeze my eyes shut afterwards. I don't notice him remove the syringe as a result.

At first I feel nothing. Then a white flash crosses my vision. I scream out as an intense burning pain fills my head. I tug against my binds only subconsciously as I try to fight away the pain, but the more I do so, the more painful it becomes. Eventually, I can't take it anymore and I gratefully slip into unconsciousness.

* * *

Raph anxiously paces back and forth, fists clenched tightly at his side. He was having a lot of trouble staying still for longer than a minute. He didn't know how long ago he began pacing and he didn't care. Mikey was out there somewhere with the Svone nutcase and his sensei was lying delirious on the couch as he fought against pain and death. Raph wasn't in a good 'resting' mood.

"Raph!" Leo snapped, obviously agitated.

"What?!" Raph whirled on him.

"Sit down or something. You're driving me crazy!" He said. Leo was sitting on the floor next to the couch Splinter was lying on in case their father ever became coherent enough to tell them what happened. Donny was in his lab searching for anyplace Svone could have taken Mikey. They had little options and Raph wasn't the only one at the end of his wits.

"You?! Do you have any idea what this means?! This Svone guy's a fuckin' nut! Just think about what he could be doin' ta Mikey right now!" Raph snapped.

"I know, Raph," Leo said, his eyes squeezed shut at the idea. "I _know_, but there's nothing we can do about it right now. We have _no idea_ where he's holding Mikey right now. The last place he used we destroyed. You _know_ we don't have a single lead to his current whereabouts so cool off and _be patient_."

"Patient? Heh, yeah, right. Like I can be patient when my little brother's in danger. Do you even _care_?"

"Of course I do," Leo said with a sigh of impatience as he laid his head in his palm. "I really don't want to deal with you right now. Just cool it." Leo's eyes glanced towards Splinter as his sensei's delirium continued between ragged breathing.

"I'm gonna kill Svone. I wanna feel his blood on my fists as I punch that smug smile off his ugly face. I wanna be tha one ta end 'im personally. He ain't gonna come back once I'm through wit' him." Raph vowed as he enunciated each word with a punch to his open palm. He then turned and dealt a hard punch to the nearby punching bag. His vision clouded over as he let out a roar and, imagining the bag as Svone, rained punches and kicks to it with growing ferocity. "I. Want. Him. _Dead!"_

A hand on his shoulder had him whipping to face his careful brother. Leo swiftly backed away as Raph, still in blind fury, went to swipe at him. "Raphael," Leo said in a clear voice as he moved into a fighting stance. With a determined look, he gave Raph a signal as he drew a single katana. Still in a fury, but knowing the challenge for what it was, responded with drawing his sais. The spar that then commenced was full of energy that both brothers needed to expel in their frustration.

By the end of it, both were breathing hard but they were still determined to the finish. Eventually, Leonardo spoke. "I know you want revenge. We all do. You're not the only one who wants his blood." He spoke firmly as the spar continued, but by now, he was mostly watching Raph carefully. Raphael said nothing so Leo continued, "We're in the same boat here. Think about it this way. If we start looking now with zero clues as to what we're dealing with, how far do you think we'd get? I'll tell ya: we'd get _nowhere_. This guy's smart. We know how he works, but that's not enough to base a search on. All we know is what he _wants_ us to know." Leo stopped talking as Raph dealt a significantly heated strike that nearly cuffed Leo's head off if his katana hadn't moved to defend. "So we have nothing to go on." Leo continued again. "_Nothing._"

"I _hate_ his games!" Raph growled.

"I do as well," Leo said, calmly.

"Tha fuckin' bastard!" Raph roared as he made to punch Leo with the hilt of his sai. Leo silently deflected it with an upward thrust of his arm. "How dare he do this?! How dare he take Mikey! I shoulda killed him myself afta he did all that ta Donny! I shoulda ripped 'im apart fer that! He should neva have survived! How dare he?!" With one final strike, he sunk to his knees. "I shoulda done somethin'. Awe fuck!" He punched the floor with dispelling anger. "Why didn't I do anythin'?!"

"We couldn't." Leo said; a single katana held loosely at his side as he looked down at his brother.

"He nearly killed Don with his experiments. And now he's got Mike? Damn, what are we gonna do?! What if Mikey ends up like Donny did? What if he kills 'im?!"

"Raph, I-" Leo began before noticing Donny standing near his lab door with a mixed expression of pained remembrance. "Awe, Donny…" Raph looked up as Leo said that.

"N-no it's okay," Donny immediately said, shaking off the memories, "I'm fine. You can finish talking or whatever. I'll just…go back in my lab…"

"Donny," Leo said to stop him, "Did you find anything?"

"Oh um…no, not really," He said as he awkwardly reached behind him to grab hold of his mask tails in a nervous habit. "…Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Leo said with a small smile, "We knew it was going to be difficult. Take your time if you need it."

"'Kay."

"Hey Donny?" Raph said as he got to his feet. Donny made a 'hmm?' sound before Raph continued, slowly, "Ya ain't gotta worry 'bout Svone, gotcha? I'll take care o' him personally fer ya. He ain't gonna live afta this."

"Thanks…I think," Donny said, still slightly uncomfortable, "Um…just don't be rash about it, alright? I don't want you getting hurt 'cuza me…"

Raph cracked a smile at that. "Don't worry about me, little brother."

"Okay…" Donny still looked nervous. A nightmare prominent in his mind that wouldn't go away.

"_AAAARRRUUUGGHH!"_

The three brothers froze momentarily before each turned to Master Splinter. The old rat was tense in a pain he was now trying to hold back. The three ran over, Leo taking the spot nearest. "Sensei?"

Splinter waited to speak until after the pain became bearable. "Leonardo…" He said through clenched teeth, his voice breathy and weak.

"Yes, father?" Leo asked.

Splinter felt for his son's hand, his eyes never opening. "Michelangelo…must find him… His…_mind_ in danger…"

"We don't know where he is…" Leo began, his voice higher then normal.

"Listen," Splinter said, his dark eyes falling on his eldest son, "He's not far. Svone…" He closed his eyes and turned his head to the ceiling, "…Svone close… Same place… All those years ago, it's…the same place…"

"Sensei?"

Splinter looked back at him, eyes dulling even though he's trying to hold on. "Research and Development building… Almost right above…first lair… Bet he thought that was funny… Take my son away…have him so close… If only I had gotten my hands on him then…"

"Sensei, what are you talking about?"

"That first time… Michelangelo…he was eleven… Do you remember?"

"…No," Leo said, "But we did hear about it from Mikey…"

"I'll help you remember…Leonardo," Splinter said, "If you let me."

"Of course."

* * *

**A/N:** So it's been a while. Now you must review so I know I didn't lose ya. ;) Please y'all? *puppy-dog look* I'll give cyber-cookies to all who do so. :D


	7. Memories

**A/N:** Sorry for the exceptionally long wait on this. For about a week and a half, I had no monitor and my internet's screwy. When I got the temp one I'm using now and the internet kept dying, I decided to update in a lot of fics. I may start posting Down the River of Lost Memories on here (a collab with my friend). Anyway, read on, readers. ;)

* * *

The next time I open my eyes, he's smiling. "Tell me, what do you remember?"

"Ramember…?" I ask as I begin to feel the pressing weight of emptiness. It hurts…and it scares me… I feel so confused and tired. He places his hand on my chin and I flinch; he makes sure I don't turn away.

"Do you remember anything?"

"Wha…? N-no…"

"Good. Now I can move on to the next phase of my testing," He says as he walks away. I watch him with growing fear. Something's very wrong… What's going on…?

* * *

Meanwhile, Leonardo and his brothers accompany their sensei on a trip through their lost memories. Splinter stood in front of them in the dream world to prepare them for the journey. "It was mid-June. You four were always restless that time of year. Michelangelo left about late afternoon…" As he talked, images swirled around them. They saw a young Mikey, skateboard in hand, open the lair's door, take one look around him, and then disappear through it. "Leonardo, you saw him leave. The one thing you did right that day was tell Raphael where you were going…" A scene of a young Leo and Raph briefly talking before Leo ran off towards the door. "…Raphael ended up telling me about it, but not outright. By the time, I found out, it had been a few hours and it was starting to get late. I came out of my room to see Raphael and Donatello in an argument…" A scene of Raph and a tear-filled Donny silently arguing flashed. "…I had to threaten to even get you to tell. And then I went out alone. I found Leonardo with Michelangelo's skateboard in hand…" This time a young Leo was seen with tears in his eyes as he frantically looked around the immediate area before spotting Splinter and running up to him. "It seemed Michelangelo had taken a bad fall, and by the time Leonardo arrived, was already gone. Then I had to find him. I sent Leonardo home before searching the area for clues, finding nothing.

"That report you read was what alerted me. It appeared in the paper about a month after Michelangelo went missing. The name of the building Svone worked in was easy to find when I begin my suspicions. Then all I had to do was get to him. The day I planned to invade the place, you three found out what was happening and only would stop bothering me when I told you to stay home. You didn't, but I never expected you to. I made it inside without alerting anyone and caught Svone as he was working on a report. To this day, I don't know how he got his hands on Michelangelo. Only he would know, but I did get him out of there."

"Why didn't you kill Svone?" Donny asked, "He was right there."

"Believe me I would have, especially if I had known what leaving him alive would entail. As I went to attack him, he threw someone at me and then escaped. Instead of following, I had to make sure Michelangelo was safe. I knew he needed me more at that time."

"Do you know what Svone want with Mikey? Is it the same thing he wanted before? Or is it like want he did to Donny?" Leo asked, and in this in-between world, they all could feel the wave of emotion radiating from Donny at the name of his tormentor. "…Sorry," Leo added with a glance at Don.

"I believe this time it may be more about memory." Splinter continued as if he didn't feel anything. "You must hurry. I fear for your brother. Time is running short. Go to him. I gave you the location. Now I will show you. Remember and rescue your brother. If you can, kill Svone, but be smart about it. I have a feeling this man won't just leave us alone. He will be back."

Again, Donny shivered until he finally had to pull out of this dream world with a fear of what his brothers may see. The others followed him out and Leo looked over at him as Donny stood and turned away. "What's wrong, Donny?"

"Nothing," He said a little too quickly, "Come on; let's get ready to get Mikey back." He started to head to his lab but his brother's voice stopped him.

"Ya know sum'thin', don'tcha?" Raph asked as he stood with his arms folded across his plastron. "What is it?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Raph." Don said without turning around.

"Is it about those dreams? What did he show ya?"

"I _said_…" He began, anger entering his usually calm voice. He took a breath before continuing, "I don't want to talk about it." He looked towards the ceiling as if asking for patience. "Let's just go…"

"I-" Raph began. Leo placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"Svone could be really messing with Mikey, guys. We don't have time for this. Get the stuff you need and let's go, _now_." Leo ordered. As his brothers finally began to get ready, Leo glanced at Splinter's now unconscious body. If he wasn't worried about Mikey, he would insist on staying home. He was greatly worried for his father. He hated Svone's men for what they did. He could only hope his father's aged body could recover from the battering…

* * *

I'm so confused. My head hurts. I don't want to be here. Why can't I get away? What's wrong with me? I know this guy's responsible, but I can't place who is anymore. I'm sure I knew before… I pull against my binds as my fear grows. Small bits of images cross my memory but nothing sticks long enough for me to comprehend them. I feel so alone… Is there anyone coming for me? I don't even remember simple things. It's so hard to even try to remember. That just hurts more. Maybe I don't want to remember. Maybe then, the pain will go away…

* * *

Svone growled as he watched the input screen. The test wasn't working. He couldn't believe he could fail. It had worked once. He typed in some info as he thought. The last time it worked, the memory gap was small. It was only about a month long. That had returned completely after a little over a month. _So maybe 16 years of memory will return for about that same amount of time?_ Svone shook his head. It had to work quicker than that. It _needed_ to. Otherwise, he won't get enough of a profit. It also needed to be less painful, but Svone knew he could take care of that easier. This was just a test run anyway, perfectly legal too with their being no laws against it. That was the best discovery he ever made. He glanced over at Michelangelo with a smile at first memory of the then younger turtle. It sure made him comfortable with the funds needed to continue his research.

When he glance back at his computer system, he caught sight of a dark shadow in his security cameras. _And so you have arrived._ His smile grew with anticipation. Then he frowned when he remembered the situation. _They can't get to my subject yet. I still have more work planned. If I can just get the drug to work _faster… Then he shook his head as he started for the door with his communicator in hand. "Report to area 2-A20. Be ready for confrontation." He ordered to the communicator before addressing the lab assistants in the room. "Keep an eye on the animal. I want constant status updates. I have a bit of business to deal with." With that, the scientist left the room.

* * *

The three turtle brothers expected a fight, but they did not expect one too soon. Almost as soon as they entered the building, the unnaturally fast lab assistants were there.

"Do ya take steroids fer breakfast?" Raphael roared as he barely dodged a strike to his side. "Man, I'm starting ta sound like Mikey now. Must be 'cause he ain't here ta say it." Just to make up for the lapse in personality, Raph struck out at one of the super-geeks, only to miss. "Why don'tcha stand still so I can get a hit in, ya gay bastards."

"It's no use. We can't fight them." Leo said, dodging a hit by flipping backwards. "We have to lose them."

"I don't wanna admit defeat from a bunch a' lousy lab-rats!" Raph growled. Donny barely glanced at him for that, being a 'lab-rat' himself.

"Well then don't. Tactical retreat, remember?" Leo said, sparing a glance for his brother and a brief half-smile. When he turned back to the fight, his katana caught one of the men in the arm, drawing a small amount of blood, and surprising the reciprocator as well as Leo himself. "Heh, I don't think these guys are really any good at fighting."

"Yeah, they jus' have that lidda speed thing goin' fer them." Raph said, sarcastically.

"Can we just _go_ and get this over with?" Donny said through clenched teeth, but whether he was really annoyed or his tone was because the man he was trying to block with his bo staff just got past his defenses enough to cut into his arm some was anyone's guess.

"What's the hurry, Donatello?" The voice froze Donny, along with the lab crew, as Dr. Elias Svone stepped into view.

"Svone." Donny muttered, darkly.

"Still a little steamed, I see." He said with a smirk.

"Where's Michelangelo." Leo said as he pointed his katana at Svone.

"I'm a little busy at this moment and not ready for guests. My experiment isn't quite going as planned-"

"Whaddaya doin' ta my brotha, Svone?" Raph growled, fists clenched around the hilts of his sais.

"So I would appreciate it if you take your leave and come back a little later." Svone went on; obviously ignoring both Leonardo and Raphael as his eyes never strayed from Donatello's narrowed ones.

"I'm not leaving until I bring you to your knees, _Svone_, for what you've done to me and now what you're doing to my brother." Donny said in return.

"I haven't even come _close_ to a point where I can just hand over your brother. Unlike the Nightmare Generator and the Prophethorical – both I used on you – this new invention hasn't had the kinks worked out on it. It would be best if I had more time-"

"You've had time _enough_!" Raph roared. He hated being ignored. And that Svone _insisted_ on talking to his _younger_ brother and not him or Leo only made it worse.

"Raph…" Leo said, simply. His own voice held a distinct impatience for the same reason as his brother even as he tried to still Raph's temper. "Listen to me, Svone." He said, stepping a little in front of Donny, in-between him and Svone, purposefully. "Stop playing these games and release Michelangelo, _now_."

For the first time, Svone spared Leo a quick glance. "Your brother doesn't seem to understand." He said, speaking to Donatello again. "I _can't_ release him just yet. I'm not even sure you'd want him right now. He's kind of not himself right now…"

"You _bastard!" _Raph roared.

"I would stop this before you lose your head." Donny said, glancing from Leo's defensive posture – katanas drawn and ready – to Raph's offensive stance – about ready to pounce at Svone, his gripped sais held in attack position, "My _brothers_ are about ready to attack you right now."

"Is that so?" Svone said, easily, "Then they must not realize the seriousness of Michelangelo's condition. I'm needed to perfect the formula."

"What formula?" Leo asked.

"What didja do ta him?" Raph demanded.

"I don't have time for this…" Svone muttered as he glanced at his watch.

Donny would've attacked him at that moment if it wasn't for the fact that Leo was in his way. As it was, he didn't need to. That was the moment Leo decided to take action. He shot forward – as Donny knew he was ready to do in an instant from years of watching his brother in battle – and managed to pin Svone on the ground, one katana to the man's throat, the other between arm and side, pinning him to the ground through flesh (by rage-induced accident, as Leo normally just would have pinned him through his shirt).

"You have time now." Leo said, evenly, in that dangerously calm voice of his just slightly inflexed with the anger he couldn't hold back like his father could. The katana's blade – that was against Svone's neck – dug in just slightly, but Leo didn't seem to care. "So tell me: where is my brother?"

Svone had never faced down an angry Leonardo before – though he had faced an angry Splinter and escaped just barely all thanks to a handy escape hatch and a bomb on his pleasure island/submersible laboratory. This was his first time at sword point facing down his possible death though. It made him wonder how dangerous this animal could be. The scientific curiosity all but won out over his flash of fear. He managed to cool it to nervous indifference before he spoke. "If I am killed, I can not answer."

"We won't need your answer if you want to play it that way."

"My men wouldn't let anyone past them at my death. No one will get to where Michelangelo is then."

"We'll manage. Start talking, Svone." The dangerous glint in Leo's eyes only grew as the katana moved as if to cut deeper.

"He may not want to leave just yet. He won't remember you."

As Svone expected it too, this announcement managed to get Leo to draw back some, but not enough for Svone to get free. "What do you mean?"

"I've erased memories before. I know how well that works. I wasn't sure how well that Memory Retrieval formula worked, however. Apparently, it still needs work, but-"

"You erased Mikey's memory?" Leo said, for the first time, losing his practiced calm. "All of it?"

"Yes."

"And you can't get it back?" This time, his voice turned a little sarcastic in his anger.

"Not without time."

"Heh, no. Your time's run out, buddy." Leo said, almost sounding completely deranged. He moved to decapitate Svone, but before he could, one of Svone's men clubbed him over the head. Leo instantly collapsed, sliding to the floor beside Svone, who then slowly got to his feet, not even sparing a glance at his savior as he removed the katana meant to pin him and held a hand over his cut neck. He nudged Leo's prone from, confirming the turtle's unconsciousness, before looking over the hallway. His brow quirked at finding only one turtle still in attendance, other than the unconscious one: Donatello.

"Where's the other one?" He asked, quietly.

"Got away. We intercepted them when they tried to immediately help the other, but during the confusion of battle, we lost it." A lab-tech answered.

"Probably gone to find the brother. Keep a look-out for him. In the mean-time, take this one away to one of the temp-labs down the hall." He nudged Leo with his foot again and this time earned himself a small grunt in return. "_Before_ he wakes up. How hard did you hit him? It doesn't matter anyway. I just want to try a little side experiment; get myself a little payback. In the meanwhile, I'm going to say hi to my favorite turtle again…"

* * *

It was Donatello's idea, both times. He thought maybe one of them should go find Mikey while they were all distracted. It was also his stupid idea to stay behind, but Raph had to deal with that. He knew when his brother wasn't going to change his mind and he thought, maybe, Donny needed this. He could tell his brother was still struggling with his previous capture. He didn't get to see much of Leo's 'conversation' with Svone, but he saw enough to know Leo had Svone covered for the moment…and vise-versa. He wasn't there for Leo's knock-out, though, or he wouldn't have left at all. All Raph cared about now was finding Mikey. …And keeping hidden. He didn't want another set of lab-techs-on-speed holding him up.

He made good progress through the industrial-style hallways and actually got lucky once when he located a floor map tacked up on the wall. He figured Mikey was being held in some kinda lab and, looking at the different rooms and floors, realized how broad that was. "This is gonna be harder then I thought." Raph whispered softly enough not to be heard. He eventually had to guess based on he past association with Svone. _Donny had been held in more of a private lab… Big and centrally located… Probably had quick access out for easy and silent transport…_ As he thought, his finger trailed over the map before finally settling on one possibility. _That looks like my best bet._ With that in mind, Raph moved on.

* * *

Donny hadn't yet noticed Leo ran into any trouble. He had been concentrating on keeping the lab-techs busy and keeping himself standing. Then the fighting stopped so abruptly, Donny started towards Svone's grinning, approaching figure. "It's just you and me now, Donatello. Back to where we've started, it seems."

"Where's Leo?" Donny said as he looked around for his brother and couldn't see him anywhere.

"I'm sure my men will catch up to Raphael shortly. I'm surprised he could get by my men."

"Where's Leo?" Donny said, more firmly, as he stared Svone down.

"Your brother nearly killed me. He needs to be taught a small lesson."

"He doesn't need to be taught _anything_! What are you going to do to him?"

"The future is a funny thing. There are so many possible scenarios. Differing endings from one to the next all depending on the choices made by each and every individual involved. Your dreams have given me an idea. I want to try it out."

"No." Donny said as the memory of one dream came back to him: Leo trapped and bleeding in a strange forest like something out of a nightmare. "You're not going to do _anything _more to my brothers!"

"It's too bad really. There's nothing you can do about it. You might as well just give up trying."

"Never." Donny said before attacking Svone.

* * *

**A/N:** Well they ya have it. A nice long one for ya. Please review. Reviews mean more memories for Mikey ;)


	8. Svone's Game

**A/N: As stated in other fic, I'm posting all that I have. I'm not in the mood to write so much now so updates will be slow. Not that does not mean abandoned! There is only one fic I have abandoned and that is Two Pieces of a Whole. This story has an even more concrete outline. I know what I'm gonna do. I just hafta get there. I also decided to change the order of the next two fics in the series...and may make them either parts of each other of just one fic. Raph's story just doesn't have a true plot like Leo's does . Anyway, read on. This is nowhere near finished. It's only past the first hurdle ;) I tried to add a little Mike's POV, but the poor turtle is so lost, I can't hold it for long :( Guess it's mostly Raph's third person from now on...**

* * *

When Raph finally stepped into the room Michelangelo was in, his eyes immediately scanned it. About nine lab-techs were moving around inside. None of them noticed Raphael yet. Then Raph's eyes landed on his brother. Mikey was hanging limp in his binds – those same glowing purple rings used before. His brother wasn't unconscious. Even as he watched, Mike lifted his eyes toward him. The lack of recognition scared Raph. If he had heard what Svone had told Leo, he wouldn't have been so surprised.

It was in that moment as Raph watched his brother that the lab-techs turned to see him. One went to sound an alarm that started blaring before Raph could send his sai at it. The sound only lasted half a minute, but Raph knew he now had a time limit. He quickly ran the last of the way inside and tried to fight through them, quickly finding them to also be unnaturally fast. Raph didn't take the time to comment. His only thought was on his brother.

Raph managed a lucky shot when his punch met flesh and bone. The lab-tech he caught backed up a little from the hit and Raph quickly grabbed the man's arm and pulled him into his plastron. He placed his sai against the man's throat and smirked when the other techies slowed down. "Yeah, ya care about yer friend, don'tcha?" Raph said when he noticed this. "Good. Ya may save his life then. Heh, yeah jus' 'cuz yer fast don't mean ya can beat me. 'Bet yer wond'rin' that, huh? Well listen close: yer gonna get my brother down from that wall and then yer gonna leave us alone like good li'l' geeks. Ya hear that? If ya don't… Well ya might be short a friend here." He let the sai press hard against the techie, making it difficult for him to breathe. The other men and woman in the room looked nervously at each other. Then Raph added: "Oh, and if ya even _think_ about tryin' ta get yer friend back b'fore helpin' me? I'll remind ya, I'm a ninja. I've learned not ta feel pain and I'm a lot stronger than you losers so ya ain't gettin' him back that way. Any attempt and he's dead. Got it?"

"I'm sorry…" One of the few women said.

"Jus' get on with it, lady." Raph growled with a slightly lighter tone than usual. The woman bowed her head as she quickly walked over to a desk to get the remote out of it. She pressed the button to release the purple rings holding Mikey to the wall and the newly freed turtle slid heavily to the ground without attempting to lighten his decent. Raph resisted the urge to immediately go to him. "Alright now, get goin'." He said.

"May I…? He…may not get his memory back… Dr. Svone said…" The woman said, sounding truly upset about that.

"…What?" Raph immediately looked back at her.

"I'm sorry…" She repeated, tears shinning in the corners of her eyes. She backed away from Raph's dangerous look. "Please…don't hurt us. Dr. Svone does his work personally. I just keep an eye on things. Please believe me. I think this is wrong to test things like this on you and your brothers…"

"Get out b'fore I kill ya all!" Raph growled and immediately the room was cleared as the people inside rushed out any door they could get to. As soon as they were gone, Raph released the man he was holding and ran to his brother. "Come on, Mikey. Talk ta me, bro." He said, softly, as he lifted his brother into his arms. Mikey only gazed back at him, blankly. The man he threatened to kill watched this, holding a hand to his bruised neck. After a short moment, a light began to blink by the communications desk. The man, known as Jared Kenny – the same Jared who had given the turtle brothers Svone's message when Donatello had been the captive – stared at the blinking red light. He knew it meant that Dr. Svone wanted his periodic update. He had to respond or his boss would start to worry. He reached slowly towards the button to talk…

* * *

Leonardo came to with a splitting headache. He couldn't hold back a groan as he went to touch a hand to his head. Then he came aware that he was bound when his wrist was met with resistance. His eyes immediately snapped open and he glanced at his surroundings: a lab. It took him a minute or two to remember what had occurred before he woke up in this room. _I must have been knocked out. Ugh, I can't believe I let myself get snuck up on!_ He looked over at the only occupant in the room. The man wasn't looking at him. He was hunched over at a desk obviously intent on whatever he was working on. As Leo watched him, he remembered his brother. _Oh Mikey… I have to get out of here!_ He tugged on his binds but he already knew it would be useless from the last time he was bound like this. He couldn't even move his wrist or ankles away from the wall. _Well I guess I'll just have to wait for Donny and Raph…_ Another thought crossed his mind then and he squeezed his eyes shut. _Sensei… We don't have time for this! Please hold on a little longer, father… I'm sorry…_

"You think you would have learned your lesson from your dreams, Donatello." Svone said, dodging another swipe from Donny's bo staff. "You can't win."

"Shut up!" Donny growled, loudly. Donatello didn't know how long this fight had lasted. He wasn't paying much attention to anything but his hated ex-tormentor. Every strike he tried failed and – if Donny would even care to admit it to himself – he was getting exhausted and simply frustrated. He didn't even think about why Svone was just dodging when he knew the scientist could do so much more. The man was just playing with him.

"You saw my victory over Raphael, remember?" Svone said, "I knocked him around to an inch of his life easily without getting a scratch on me."

"That'll never happen! It was just a _dream_!" Donny roared, swiping his staff through the air in emphasis. He wasn't even following any of his usual moves. Each attack was erotic and sloppy. It was evident Donny wasn't even thinking about his ninjitsu training; let alone abiding by it.

"It was more than that. You saw what happened to Michelangelo came true. Why must you continue to deny what you see with your own eyes? That isn't your way. I know you well enough to see that."

"You don't know _anything_ about me!"

"We're the same; you and I. That's why I choose you when I got to know the four of you better. I saw a fellow scientist so I wanted to help broaden your horizons."

"I'm _nothing_ like you! You're a deranged lunatic!" Donny was positively seething by this point. Svone took notice of this and smiled. He knew it wouldn't be long before Donatello took _himself_ out. That's when he decided to end the battle. The next time Donny whipped his staff at Svone; the scientist caught it and went with the motion so as not to hurt his hand from the hard impact. He pulled the weapon away and, as Donny had thrown his whole body into the attack, he was easily pulled forward by the motion. As soon as Donny began to fall, he released his staff so as to use his hands to stop his head from striking the ground. Svone immediately stomped on Donny's carapace so the attempt was made useless and Donny struck the ground harder then he would've liked.

"Look at yourself," Svone said when he bent over to talk in the turtle's ear, "I don't even recognize you anymore. You've really begun to remind me of your brother."

Donny struggled to push himself up but adding his exhaustion on top of the foot holding him down, he couldn't manage it. "Get off of me!"

"Uh, uh, uh," Svone said, shaking his head at the turtle. "You wore yourself out so it would be useless to attempt."

"Do you ever stop talking?" Donny growled again. He didn't stop trying to get up, but he had an idea. He began to reach his hand towards his belt.

Svone reached over and yanked on Don's mask tails so his head was jerked backwards. The purple-banded turtle winced, momentarily stopping his pursuit for the desired object attached to his belt. "Do you like it when other people disturb _you_ when you are in the middle of a project? You know, I would leave you alone if you would leave me alone. I may love my games, but I am first and foremost a scientist. This distraction was both unwelcome and untimely. Raphael may find Michelangelo but, in doing so, he'll doom your little brother to possibly permanent amnesia. I just wanted to perfect a certain formula. I would have let him go when I was finished. Why must your brothers interfere when I don't want them too?"

"You really are an idiot." Donny hissed, eyes still closed, "Don't you know anything about family? You've signed your death certificate when you took me! It would have been sooner, even, if you hadn't made Master Splinter forget about the _first_ time you took Mikey!" When Donny's hand closed on the desired object, he smiled – though it looked more like a grimace with his head still held painfully back. He then rammed the shuriken deep into the back of the only leg he could reach of Svone. The scientist immediately backed away and fell to the ground in pain. Donny slowly got to his feet, feeling even wearier than before. He would have liked to kill Svone then, but the scientist's lab-techs were already taking him away. All Donny could do then was run in hopes of finding his brother, Leonardo…

* * *

Jared Kenny pressed the call button before Raphael even knew he was reaching for it. Then Svone's voice filled the room from the speaker: "I want my report!" He demanded, voice tinged slightly with pain. Raph immediately turned towards the speaker and then to Jared with a deadly glare. Jared gulped at the look. "Everything is in order, sir!" He said in a shaky tone.

"It better be! I have to start on my new project and I'll need something to keep those turtles busy. I'll want to be informed on _anything_." He said before he disconnected. Raph's expression softened somewhat before he turned back to his little brother.

"Come on, bro," He said as he hauled Mikey up. Suddenly Mikey pulled against him.

"No! No, no, no!" He complained, "Leggo!"

"Mikey, come on! I don't have time for this!" Raph huffed.

"Leggo! Leave me alone!" Mikey continued protesting. His eyes were squeezed shut and he was trembling…

* * *

I don't know where I am anymore. Everything's so confusing… If I concentrate on something too hard, my head starts hurting worse than anything I've ever known. I don't even know what to think about any of this. That's why I pull away. The sudden movement is too much. I don't even know who I can _trust_ anymore. The more I struggle, the weaker I feel and the more of a migraine I get. Eventually I got to stop and clasp my hands against my head as the pain increases. As I curl up to try to relieve the pain, I feel a hand touch me. "_Please_, just leave me alone." I groan…

* * *

Raph hesitated just briefly as he stared down at Mikey. A growing hatred for Svone only grew within him. Jared still stood watching. Eventually he stepped forward. "I…I can help." He started. Raph whirled to face him and the man stepped back again. "I'm just saying…I- you can give him something so he won't have to be in pain anymore. I don't believe he'll go willingly otherwise…"

"Why should I let ya do anything ta my brother? Ya already messed him up sum'thin' bad." Raph said with a glare.

"I got a little brother too. I can see you want to help him. I want to help you, now that I can. I can even help you get out of here safely." He said, a little braver now. "I can even tell you the exact room one of your other brothers was taken to earlier. I got the message before you arrived here."

"Other..? Leo? Or Donny?" Raph asked.

"Leonardo." Jared confirmed.

"…Fine, give me tha stuff. I'll give it ta him myself."

* * *

Leonardo's head snapped up when the door opened and he glared as Svone entered. He noticed the man had a slight limp and his pant leg was bloody. "Now to get started…" Svone said as he walked until he was right in front of Leo.

"What do you think you are you going to do to me?" Leo asked; his eyes still narrowed.

"Just a little thing I was inspired to do. Don't worry. The effects won't be immediate…" He then pulled out a syringe and quickly injected it into Leo's arm. "Now good night, Leonardo. We'll see each other again after the procedure…"

Almost immediately, Leo began to feel his eyes grow heavy. He began to pull against his binds, fighting the urge to sleep, but it was no use. He soon couldn't hold it back any longer and went limp; his eyes slowly closing until he was completely out. Then Svone got started…

* * *

Raph carried his little brother on his back as he followed Jared. He watched the man with narrowed eyes, hoping he wasn't making the biggest mistake of his life. As he walked down the hall, Jared suddenly came to a stop. "What's da hold-up?" Raph whispered.

"Your brother," he said as he pointed down the hall. Raph looked around him and his eyes widened when he saw Donny leaning against the wall down the hall. Raph could tell from where he should, his brother was trying to stay on his feet. The red-masked turtle quickly grabbed Jared's arm and ran with him to shorten the distance between them.

"Donny?" Raph asked when he was near enough to whisper, "What happened?"

"Raph?" Donny asked as he looked up, "You got Mikey? Is he okay?"

"Peachy. Ya didn't answer my question. What happened ta ya?"

"Just Svone." He said, in explanation. "I managed to injure him." He smiled at that, "Now we just have to find Leo. Svone took him some place-"

"I know," Raph said, "_He_'s takin' me ta him." He jerked Jared's arm and the man yelped slightly as he almost stumbled. "Can ya stay on yer feet? Maybe ya can take Mike outta here."

"I'm not leaving Leo." Donny said with narrowed eyes.

"Damn it, Don! Yer exhausted. Yer gonna get outta here and yer gonna take Mike with ya. He needs ta get some place familiar b'fore he wakes up, got it?" Raph shot back.

"I _need_ to do this. I need to know I can stop all this."

"Too bad. You can come with me fer now, but when we get ta tha lab Leo's in, this guy will take ya outside fer me."

"Raph!"

"Now move it!" Raph started off and Donny huffed before dragging his tired form after his brother.

* * *

**A/N: Review please X3**


	9. Problems Never End

**Author's Note:**** This is still on a slight hiatus. This update means NOTHING! XD Seriously, though, I had THIS part finished back when the fic went on its hiatus. I was just struggling to finish the next scene to make it a good long chapter. Though, I looked back on what I had and felt...pity. I have to at least finish THIS first scene! It's Mikey's current dilemma I've been battling recently. Stay tuned for a little help session after. I NEED to break this writer's block!**

* * *

When Jared said they had arrived, Raph handed Mikey over to Donny and gave his younger brother a glare. "Now go." He said in a harsh whisper. When Donny refused to move, Jared took his hand and started pulling him to the exit.

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" Donny said as he finally started moving.

Raph watched until he was out of sight before he turned towards the lab's door. He looked into the window of the door to survey the room inside. All he could see was a lab table and counters laden with chemicals in beakers and other such tools Raph couldn't name. At one of the counters, Svone was sitting at a computer system; that was all Raph needed to see. He wanted to burst into the room right then, but he knew that may not be a good idea. He didn't think he could fight Svone at that moment with his brothers all needing him and his father possibly dying back at the lair.

When he saw Svone get up and disappear out of his sight through another door, Raph took his chance. He quietly opened the door and looked inside. His eyes landed on Leonardo's slumped form on the floor and he quickly ran over. "Leo, hey, come on, wake up, bro!" Raph whispered as he lifted his elder brother off the floor. Leo didn't respond, causing Raph to worry. His hand touched a strange wetness behind Leo's head and he quickly looked at his brother's blood on his hand. Turning Leo's head a little, Raph saw where the blood was coming from: a bruised cut Raph assumed was caused by being hit by something hard. He didn't think it looked too serious and he knew he had to get out of here soon. He lifted Leo up over his shoulder and started to run out of the room, still trying to rouse his unconscious brother.

He made it outside the premises without incident and was glad to see Donny waiting for him with Mikey. "Is he okay?" Don asked with a glance at Leo as they headed home.

"I don't know…" Raph answered, "He was hit hard on tha back o' his head and he hasn't woken up yet."

"I'll check him out when we get home."

"No, yer goin' ta bed. I'll look at 'im." Raph said with a pointed glare. Donny just sighed and looked away in response, knowing he could not argue.

* * *

Raph was there when Leo woke up the next morning. The elder turtle instantly brought a hand to the back of his head before he even opened his eyes. The groan from his brother told Raph that Leo's head was paining him. "'Bout time ya woke up." Raph said quietly.

Leo quickly opened one eye to glance at him before he spoke. "How long was I out…?" He asked as he tried to remember what happened prior to cause his head so much pain.

"Eh, about six hours. How ya feelin'?" Raph asked next.

"Like somebody took a drill to my head…" Leo slowly rolled to a sitting position and cradled his head in his hands. "Ugh, what happened to me anyway?"

"Rememba tha fight with Svone?"

"Ah, kinda." He slowly rubbed a hand along his bandaged head. "I remember attacking him but…I think that's all I can remember before everything goes fuzzy…"

"Well Svone caught ya fer a litta bit." Raph said.

"What about Mikey? And Master Splinter?" Leo asked, his voice going up a little as he remembered.

"Mikey's…up in his room probably. He can't remember a thing… and Splinter… He's not doin' very good… Tha bastards broke his spine. He'll neva walk again even if he does recover…"

* * *

_Where…where am I?_ I look at my surroundings. It feels like I should remember them but…why can't I? At least I'm not tied up anymore… I get off the bed and stumble to the door. It takes me a few times to get it open before I walk out onto a balcony.

"Mikey?"

I look around, trying hard to place where I am. But…but nothing's clicking… What's wrong with me? Where am I?! I back away from the railing but freeze when I bump into something. I whirl around and stare at it- him…

"Mikey, you should stay in your room for now…"

"…Huh?" I look around myself to make sure he's talking to me. "M-me?"

"Yes…" He's says it almost sadly. His eyes do not meet mine anymore. What did I do…?

"I-I'm sorry…?" I'm still so confused.

"No." He says, firmly, "It's not you." He nearly looks at me then before his eyes go back down. "I didn't want to believe it…"

"Huh?"

He shook his head and I saw him smile. "Forget about it. Just… Nevermind. Are you hungry?"

"I don't know…" My eyes skirt around my surroundings. "Um…where-where am I…?"

His sigh causes my eyes to find him again. "Home. Just home."

"Oh…" Why don't I know that?

"_Mew?_"

I nearly jump when something furry brushes against my leg and then something wet. I glance down at the orange cat. "_Mew?_" It looks at me with sad eyes. Why?

"Hey, come here kitty." I hear him say and I turn to see him bent down with a hand out. My eyes watch the purple fabric stream out behind his head almost mesmerized. "I'll get you some milk."

"_Mew?_" My eyes are drawn back to the cat as its tail flicks back and forth against my leg; its eyes watching his fingers. Finally its ear twitches before it starts to walk forward and rubs against his hand.

"Good kitty." He says as he scratches behind the cat's ears and then lifts him off the ground. "Sorry." He says to me. And then he's gone.

I look after him before reaching my hand back and grip the fabric there to bring it forward: orange. I play with it between my fingers. Why is that important…? What does it mean?

The fabric slips from my fingers as I slammed with a migraine so fierce, I end up on my knees. I don't even know when I start screaming…

* * *

Raph was on his feet and at the door of the lab as soon as the screaming began. "Donny! What's goin' on?!" He yelled before turning his head at the sound of movement behind him. "Don't even think about it, Leo. Ya ain't goin' anywhere."

"Raph." Was Leo's only growled complaint as he head fell back on the cot. His eyes still watched the door.

"Donny?!" Raph tried again.

"I'm busy, Raph!" Donny yelled back.

"What's goin' on?!"

"It's Mikey!"

No one noticed Splinter's fingers twitch…

* * *

The screaming eventually stopped, but Mikey didn't wake up. Donny said it had something to do with escaping pain. Raph didn't care. He just wanted his brother's eyes to open again. He also wanted Mikey's memory to return when he did and he wanted his sensei to be alright. The old rat hadn't woken yet either. Only Leo was finally allowed to do as he wished when Donny determined his head injury wouldn't deter him from doing so.

The hours were piling up, but Mikey was still unmoving. Raph's hatred of Svone grew with each second that ticked away. He swore vengeance. He was going to hunt him down and kill him for all this. His little brothers shouldn't have to suffer. He could see how Donny was still trying to cope with his own imprisonment. This definitely wasn't helping.

"Donny, why ain't he wakin' up?" Raph finally asked after hours of waiting.

"It's a coma, Raph." Donny sighed, having thought the same thing for some time now. "He'll wake up when he's ready."

"Guys, April called." Leo said as he walked over, rubbing his fingers over his head injury. "She's coming down…"

"Is your head bothering you?" Donny asked immediately.

"No, just itches a little." Leo said, quickly removing his hand like he was caught doing something bad.

"It's probably healing then. Don't itch it."

Leo barely acknowledged that as he continued. "She's bringing Chinese. She wouldn't take no for an answer. Do you think you guys can eat?"

"I guess," Raph said, "Aren't real hungry though."

"Same here." Donny added.

"Didn't think so. Try to eat anyway. Neither of you have eaten all day."

"Same goes fer you, fearless." Raph said with a glance at him.

"I can't eat…" He said as his eyes found his sensei's unmoving form.

"If we do, you will too." Donny said pointedly as he wrapped his arm around his eldest brother.

"I'll try." Again, his fingers found the injury on the back of his head. The gesture was near unconsciously done.

"Leo."

And then they were at his sides again as if nothing had happened.

* * *

**Author's Note:**** Help session activate! So...I need ideas on how to bring Mike's memories back. Offer some in the review box and you will be rewarded with net-cookies, recognition, and some good hard writing on this fanfic! Signed reviews would be preferable so can talk it out with you. I need as many ideas as possible!**


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